By Kerri Williams

WESTPORT – A text amendment regarding the building of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in town passed with little fanfare during this week’s Planning & Zoning Commission meeting, while an application regarding modification to a conservation easement received some considerable attention.

Text amendment 865, which removes the coverage exemption for ADUs for lots up to 1.5 acres, was passed by the commission 6-1 following a public hearing with no public comment and little discussion. The amendment, which was proposed by the commission, limits ADUs on very small lots and prevents overdevelopment, according to P&Z Director Michelle Perillie.

Perillie explained that some ADUs have been constructed on smaller lots that are “excessive for the bulk of the lot.”  Members called the text amendment a “course correction” after the commission made several changes to ADU regulations in 2021 and 2022, taking away some earlier restrictions.

The commissioners went ahead with the amendment despite a looming state bill that could make sweeping changes to how the town handles ADUs. Chairman Paul Lebowitz said that members decided to “plow ahead” with the text amendment despite the changes that could be coming under Housing Bill 5507, which would make it easier to build such units.

6 Newtown Turnpike

Another application regarding proposed work inside a conservation easement at 6 Newtown Turnpike received major pushback from P&Z Chairman Lebowitz and a debate that went on for nearly an hour. The application was passed with conditions in a 6-1 vote, with Lebowitz being the lone nay vote.

The project involved a previously approved subdivision where the owner proposed to relocate a driveway, reconstruct stone walls and add a gate to the entrance of the property. A portion of the work would be within a conservation easement set up during the original subdivision approval.

Lebowitz called the project a “created hardship,” adding that putting in a “fancy wall and a gate does not protect the intent of the easement.” He added that the commissioners who originally approved the easement did not take it lightly and wanted to protect the look of that entrance.

But Commissioner John Bolton said the matter was more one of individual property rights. “It’s not right to tell people what kind of fence or stone wall they can have in front of their house,” he said, adding later that the whole conversation is “silly.”

But Lebowitz countered that the commissioners who approved the easement took their job very seriously and “felt very strongly about these things.”

The project was brought forth by Andy Soumelidis of Landtech Consultants for property owned by Ken and Adrienne Winemaster. He said the couple is “really trying to work within the spirit of the easement,” reusing the stone from the original wall and trying to create a better-looking entrance for the property.

Commissioners who approved the project did so with some conditions, including that the applicant add four new trees where some have been removed and that the new gate be no higher than the pillars, which are proposed to be about 4 feet tall.

Kerri Williams

^{_{Kerri Williams is an award-winning writer and journalist. She has worked as a reporter at the Norwalk Hour, as Living editor at the Darien News-Review, and managing editor for the Norwalk Citizen-News. For Westport Journal, she is a reporter as well as a gardening columnist, writing “Cultivating with Kerri.” She recently published her first children’s book – “Mabel’s Big Move,” based on her daughter with special needs.}}